Afterwards
by Vitamin Z
Summary: The Death Note said that people who use it can neither go to heaven nor hell. We didn’t use it, so where are we?" Mello and Matt cope with existence after death.


Hey everyone! **This ficlet contains Death Note SPOILERS. **If you have not finished the series and do not want to know what happens, steer clear!

Anyways, I was deeply dissatisfied with the manner and treatment of the deaths of Matt and Mello, plus I was po'd that two of my favorite characters bit the dust. So in a particularly angsty moment, I crafted this one shot considering what happened _after_ our two favorite cool kids died. Enjoy! Vita Z

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Afterwards

Mello was sitting on a bench, and someone was next to him. A familiar scent of cigarette smoke wafted around them. He felt… strange… as if he had just woken up from some long, elaborate dream. The person next to him shifted, and Mello noticed that he wore orange-tinted goggles. They were an oddly comforting sight.

"So you're here," the person commented dryly.

"Yeah." Mello wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation, so he stuck to the facts. "Have you been here long?"

"Not really, but it's hard to judge."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I can't tell if it's day or night. See it's just foggy all the time around here." A dense for surrounded the bench, but a dim glow seemed to illuminate everything. Beneath their feet grew lush green grass, and Mello thought he could make out the hazy outline of a forest in the distance.

"Maybe it's twilight," Mello suggested, though he wasn't very convinced himself.

The man sharing the bench seemed to shrug.

"What are we doing here, anyways?"

"I was waiting." He sounded fairly confident about that.

"Waiting for what?"

"You, I guess."

"Me?" Mello didn't like asking questions.

"Sure."

"Why?" It made him feel like an imbecile.

"Why not?" That cool tone grated on him in a very familiar way.

"Matt?"

The man paused before answering. "Yeah."

"Is that you?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

Matt gave him a bored stare. "What do you think, blondie?"

The jab seemed to stir something in Mello's memory. "Kira got to us, didn't he?"

"Do I really need to answer that?"

"Near beat me."

"Beat us."

"Whatever." Mello didn't feel nearly as upset as he should have, anyways. Near seemed like a very distant concern. "My plan wasn't very good, was it?"

"Not really, no."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For getting us killed. I never even got to see Kira's face."

"You win some; you lose some." Something about Matt's tone was just too casual–like he didn't even care that he was shot more than twenty times. Besides, Mello couldn't even _remember_ the last time he had his chocolate fix.

"Matt, we lost our lives!"

"True."

"This isn't like losing a life in one of your stupid video games! We're dead!"

Matt rolled his eyes at the reference to his excessive gaming. "Are we?"

Mello paused, and looked around again. He really didn't _feel_ dead, although he was fairly certain that he died. Anyways, there wasn't any point in being angry at Matt over it, since it was basically his fault. Mello found this surprisingly easy to accept. "I don't know. The Death Note said that people who use it can neither go to heaven nor hell. We didn't use it, so where are we?"

"I have no idea."

Mello didn't know either, so he changed the subject. "I remember dying, but it didn't really hurt. I was just frustrated."

"I was surprised when it happened." Mello didn't have to ask what he was referring to. "I didn't think they'd actually _shoot_ me."

"If I had known…"

"It's alright, Mello. I can't feel it anymore. My vest isn't even torn."

Mello couldn't restrain a hint of irritation. "Oh, of course. The immaculate soul of your sheepskin vest went with you untarnished into the afterlife."

"That's right," Matt chuckled.

They lapsed into another silence, but neither really minded.

"If we're here, does that mean L is here somewhere too?"

Matt thought about it. "No. He's not here."

"How do you know?"

"I just know. I was only here waiting for you anyways."

"So now I'm here."

"Yes."

"What do we do now?"

Matt shrugged. "Whatever we feel like doing."

The two of them pondered it. "Well, you're not waiting anymore, so we could probably start by getting of this bench," Mello began. Matt nodded in agreement, but neither made any preparation to move. They weren't in any rush, for there was an infinite amount of time to slow down and smell the roses afterwards.

_Fin._


End file.
